Sheffield Castle

Sheffield City Council have appointed Crosby Granger Architects to join the wider design team at the Castle Site, a vital part of the city’s historic centre.

Crosby Granger Architects are responsible for the production of a suite of heritage documents to support the eventual discharge of planning conditions and a new LBC application. The historic Castle Site was the original heart of the city, and the location of Sheffield Castle that was demolished in 1648-9. Built over by the expanding town of Sheffield, before clearance and construction of the Castle Markets in the 20th century (now themselves demolished), this once thriving commercial area, has lost its identity and purpose.

The project will re-establish the Castle Site as a pivotal part of the city centre. The River Sheaf will be partially de-culverted and complemented by new green space and public realm. Land will be readied for future development with plots activated by ‘meanwhile uses’ that encourage healthy lifestyles.

Crosby Granger Architects are providing technical advice and specifications for the works to the listed structures that will be required for the LBC application, as well as supporting the design team in guiding development that is appropriate and conservation-sensitive. This commission is seen as two-fold; the production of the heritage documents, which includes a Heritage Statement (HS), Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) and Conservation Management Plan (CMP); and conservation-architect support within the design team to develop proposals, specifications, and liaise with the relevant bodies through to the end of RIBA Stage 3.

The Sheffield Castle site is located at the confluence of the River Don and River Sheaf, approximately half a kilometer north-east of Sheffield City centre – in an area known as Castlegate. Two castles are known to have been constructed on the site. The first comprised a motte and bailey (earth mound and timber castle) structure, likely constructed by William de Lovetot in the early-to-mid 12th Century.

It is understood that this castle was destroyed during the Second Baron War in 1266. Subsequently, a Royal Charter was obtained by Thomas de Furnival in 1270 to construct a substantial masonry castle structure with moat and ramparts. Construction commenced soon after and the structure survived for nearly 400 years until the English Civil War, whereupon the castle fell to the Parliamentarians in 1644, and its demolition was then ordered with the structure being razed in 1649.

This event, combined with numerous phases of development across the site have resulted in little remaining of de Furnival’s castle. However some small sections remain, first identified during archaeological investigations in the late 1920s.

The site is hugely important to Sheffield City Centre and has been the subject of extensive stakeholder engagement, not least in connection with past attempts to deliver the de-culverting of the Sheaf. Sheffield City Council have led the consultations with numerous groups including: the Environment Agency; Don Catchment Rivers Trust; Wild Trout Trust; Blue Loop Trust; Trout in the Town; Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust; Sheffield Waterways Strategy Group; Sheffield River Stewardship Company; SADACCA; University of Sheffield; Friends of the Old Town Hall and Friends of Sheffield Castle among others.